Keep up with news and features of interest to the reptile and amphibian community on the kingsnake.com blog. We cover breaking stories from the mainstream and scientific media, user-submitted photos and videos, and feature articles and photos by Jeff Barringer, Richard Bartlett, and other herpetologists and herpetoculturists.

Thursday, July 23 2015

More Florida sea turtle adventures, this time with a guy who loved them so much he brought them home. Too bad that's totally against the law.

From Tech Times:

Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission visited the home of William Henry Jowett after receiving a tip that he was keeping two of the threatened reptile at home.

The 53-year old eventually received a misdemeanor citation after he was discovered keeping two loggerhead sea turtle hatchling. The penalties for this included up to one year imprisonment and a potential fine of up to $1,000.

Jowett reportedly obtained the animals from the canal in his backyard two months ago and decided to place these in a saltwater aquarium to show to his daughter. He said that he had plans to release the turtles but became attached to the animals.

The animals were taken from the aquarium and moved to the Loggerhead Marine Life Sanctuary Center. The turtles were later released offshore.

Wednesday, July 22 2015

The beautiful pygmy frog, Microhyla pulchra, is a one-of-a-kind amphibian. But its uniqueness, known as crypsis, is making conservation efforts challenging.

From io9.com:

Crypsis is an entity’s ability to avoid detection. It can be a predator’s ability to avoid being spotted by prey, or prey’s ability to avoid being spotted by predators, or, in this case, an animal’s ability to avoid being spotted by biologists. Although I know it’s a valid term for a behavior, I can’t help but admire the ability of biologists to make their own failure to find an animal into a recognized property of the animal.

Tuesday, July 21 2015

Apparently the friend of your enemy is your enemy, when it comes to sea turtles -- at least in Florida, where a Vietnam veteran was allegedly shot with his own gun by someone who took exception to his efforts to protect a sea turtle nest.

From Local10.com:

A Vietnam veteran was shot while trying to save baby sea turtles at a South Florida beach.

Stan Pannaman, 72, of Tamarac, was shot Friday night near a sea turtle nest in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

Pannaman said he and Doug Young, a fellow volunteer trying to protect the nest, were confronted by Michael McAuliffe, who approached them and said he didn't like sea turtles.

"He got more aggressive and he got up and he came towards us and he started pulling the stakes away from the nest area," Young told Local 10 News.

Thursday, July 16 2015

World Snake Day is a perfect time to reflect on why snakes are so amazing.

From the Deseret News:

It is incredible that any creature can crawl, swim, dig, climb, capture prey and in some cases, glide through the air, all without the benefit of limbs, fins or wings. Rather than fear them, we should be in awe of their beauty, mystique and diversity.

There are over 3,400 snake species in the world, ranging from the semi-frozen tundra of northern Canada to the steamy jungles of the equator and most of the world’s oceans. As highly effective predators, snakes play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature in each of these realms.

Snakes have a prehistoric lineage, giving us a glimpse back to a prehistoric time when the earth was ruled by reptiles; modern reptiles are literally the living, breathing cousins of dinosaurs.

Wednesday, July 15 2015

After suffering from habitat loss, the Blanding's turtle may move from "threatened" to "endangered."

From the Pioneer Press:

The sand dunes, marshes and backwaters of the upper Mississippi River, including the Weaver Dunes of southeastern Minnesota, hold one of the largest remaining populations of the Blanding's turtle, which the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources already classifies as threatened. A population in Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in northern Nebraska, where the species is classified as at-risk, is more secure but still vulnerable.

In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week began a formal assessment of whether 20 amphibians or reptiles found in various parts of the country, including the Blanding's turtle, and one plant species should be listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Such listings would give them greater protection.

The center says the fragmented, remnant populations of Blanding's turtles across their historic range aren't enough to sustain what's left of the species.